APPLES AT BEILKE - 2015

We've got a stretch of rainy days coming, so I made a spontaneous decision to go pick apples with the little Ws today. Tim was subbing in town, so I sent him a text to see if he wanted to come with us after school or if we should go without him in the morning. He wanted to come, so we all headed to Beilke Family Farm in the afternoon. 

Teebs walked for most of the time, but managed to get a wagon ride for a little while.

Devon took off to get an extra bucket and came back with it on his head.

Silas juggled some of the tiny apples he found.

Naomi insisted on pulling a wagon.

I insisted on a family picture.

We threw in our standard silly face pose.

One shot of the little Ws.

One shot of the big Ws.

And that was it. Our first apple picking trip was fun!

WHEN THE BIG BOYS DO THEIR THING

 Devon has been spending quite a bit of time whittling and listening to Sailaway Stories lately.

He made this set of chopsticks last week.

Silas recently read a new Bear Grylls book, Extreme Food: What to Eat When Your Life Depends on It and decided to try one of the suggestions.

He fried worms. And ate them.

Now we'll have to see if the utensils Devon makes ever get used for the food Silas prepares.

Sidenote: There's actually a process that makes frying the worms safe, so don't just throw some in a skillet and call it good. If you're crazy enough to eat fried worms, then at least be wise enough to learn how to do it first.

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10/22/15 - THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for vacuums.

What's one thing that you're thankful for?

CLOTHING DIFFERENCES

I headed out to a clothing exchange a few days ago and came home with this pile of blue and green solids (ok, there are two prints .. but the truth is I'll probably never actually wear them) and some flip flops. I'm happy.

I also snagged some unclaimed things for Naomi at the end of the night. Two pairs of yellow and purple heels for her to dress up with around the house and a pink purse. She's happy.

She loves all things fancy and girly while I prefer things that are practical and plain, but the differences are fun. It takes all kinds, right?

2015 - WOODEN SHOE PUMPKIN FEST

Saturday was our annual trip to a pumpkin patch/corn maze with Dad. We headed to Wooden Shoe Pumpkin Fest for the fourth year in a row and spent five hours going through corn mazes, searching for clues and learning about the farm, shooting arrow-ish things in a game, going down slides, walking pumpkins getting launched, eating lunch, going on a hayride, swinging, sliding, climbing, and running around. It was pretty fun, as usual.

We always kick things off with the group pictures so that we don't have to try and regroup later on in the day. So here are all 6 Ws and Dad.

Then just the 6 Ws.

The kids all hopped on these bikes and were riding around, so I asked them to line up and smile.

Then I asked them to look like thugs. One of them thought that was funny.

We all hopped on the Pumpkin Fest bus for one more planned shot.

Tim and I took a break while the little Ws ran around.

Dad looked like this for much of the time, which I appreciate because it means there are lots of pictures of our family in his blog post about our outing. He also used that camera to make two "funny to us, but serious to Nomes and Teebs" videos.

10/16/15 - WORTH REPEATING

In every job that must be done / There is an element of fun / You find the fun and ... snap! / The job's a game

~ Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins

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Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find it out.

~ Frank A. Clark

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A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

~ Sir Winston Churchill

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It doesn't take strength to hold a grudge. It takes strength to let go of one. 

~ man in Oprah audience many years ago

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The sun looks down on nothing half so good as a household laughing together over a meal.

~ C. S. Lewis

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10/15/15 - THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for clothing exchanges.

What's one thing that you're thankful for?